NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 55 – “Mother”
The frozen sea stretched as far as the eye could see. While a perfect platform for fighting, it posed a risk for certain Devil Fruit users, who could accidentally disrupt their own footing.
Perospero, aware of this danger, created a coating of candy to solidify the ice, using his own ability.
It was a precaution, a way to ensure that he wouldn’t lose his footing if the ice suddenly broke, but it also made it easier for him to use the surface.
He was easily able to trap his opponent – David, who was now encased in candy, transformed into a ‘Candyman’.
“Perorin, to think you’d be captured so easily… It seems only a handful of your crew are a real threat.”
Kanata, who had been fighting Linlin directly, and Junshi, who had been facing off against Streusen, had both proven to be formidable foes. Feiyun was effortlessly crushing the biscuit soldiers created by Cracker, the tenth son.
They knew there were some Devil Fruit users among the enemy crew, but they hadn’t expected much trouble from someone like David.
“Kukuku… Let’s see your face contort with fear, Perorin♪.”
“Sweet, huh. I’m a ‘Bomb-Bomb’ human, a bomb person. Even if you capture me with this candy, I can just blow myself up from the inside, no problem.”
“What!?”
David, grinning mischievously, spoke with confidence, despite being encased in candy. With his power, he could easily explode from the inside and blow the candy to pieces.
“Full Body Detonation!”
David’s body exploded and the candy around him shattered from the inside.
Just as Perospero scoffed, thinking he wouldn’t be so easily outsmarted, a shift occurred.
“Hm?”
"Huh?"
A radial crack spread from where David had exploded, and the ice beneath him shattered. The ice block, no longer stable, collapsed, plunging David into the icy water.
“Aaaaaaaaaa!!!”
“Whoa!! He blew himself up?!”
David, struggling to stay afloat, was met with the cold embrace of the sea. A Devil Fruit user, he wouldn’t be able to stay afloat and slowly sank.
Junshi, seeing the outcome, charged towards Perospero, while Scotch dove into the icy water.
"That idiot… He’s getting a lecture when we get back.”
“You think you’ll get back safely, Perorin?”
“I’ll be returning that line to you.”
A ‘Candy Maiden’, a candy-covered, steel maiden created by Perospero to capture Junshi, approached. Junshi swiftly dodged the attack. He closed the distance, landing a powerful punch on Perospero’s side.
His Haki-infused punch shattered several ribs, sending Perospero flying backward.
“I was going to finish him with that blow.”
The blow hadn’t done enough damage. Perospero’s body was covered in a thick layer of candy, almost like armor, leaving a few candy shards clinging to Junshi’s fist.
The candy, hard as steel, should have shattered under Junshi’s punch, but even so, Perospero was still conscious. He deserved credit for his resilience.
“What are you doing, you idiot?!”
“Sp-sp-sp-spibaz-zen...”
From behind, Scotch, having pulled David from the water, was yelling at him.
While it was understandable that he had destroyed the ice platform to escape from Perospero’s ability, it was a reckless act.
The sea was extremely cold, thanks to the layer of ice on the surface. Both David and Scotch were shivering, their teeth chattering.
"It's freezing! Hey, Junshi! Do you have anything warm?”
"I don’t carry such things. Go borrow Samuel’s fur coat.”
"Good idea, that fur coat will keep you warm, for sure.”
Scotch went to search for Samuel.
Junshi, after apologizing for leaving Perospero to him, followed David.
He could have used his power to create a small explosion to start a fire, but there was nothing to burn. Moreover, he didn’t want to risk a repeat of his earlier mishap.
He needed to train his abilities further, Junshi thought.
"Damn it… he's underestimating me…!"
Perospero, whose ribs had been broken, glared at Junshi with a pale face.
He was often overshadowed by Kanata, but Junshi was still a 300 million berry bounty hunter. He was no slouch.
Moreover, the Big Mom Pirates were facing a dire situation. Their strongest force, Linlin, was engaged with Octavia. There was no one left to stop Kanata.
Junshi, Feiyun, and Zen, all bounty hunters with bounties exceeding 100 million berries, were more than a match for Perospero. It was unlikely that the rest of Linlin’s siblings could even handle them.
(The situation is getting worse! Should we keep fighting?)
Linlin’s children were still young. They were around Kanata’s age or younger, outnumbered but outmatched in terms of skill.
The rest of their crew – Streusen was fighting alongside Linlin, and their other subordinates, as well as their numerous Homies, couldn’t hold them back. But they couldn’t retreat. They knew Linlin would reprimand them for backing down.
(Die here, or get killed by Mama later… It’s a lose-lose situation!)
The captain’s orders were absolute for the Big Mom Pirates. They couldn’t retreat without Linlin’s command.
As Perospero pondered his options, a blinding flash of light and a deafening roar erupted. A massive bolt of lightning struck the sea.
“… It seems they’ve finished.”
After several hours later, the battle between Octavia and Linlin and Streusen was finally over.
The thunder that had been resounding throughout the sky seemed to die down, and a silence that seemed to have subsided spread across the ice at dusk.
***
Even for someone as powerful as Octavia, Linlin and Streusen were formidable foes. She was wounded, though not severely. She sighed, "I’ve gotten rusty.”
She had scars – burns, cuts, bruises. She rarely got injured in the past, but Linlin had grown stronger since then.
Five years had passed since Rocks was defeated. The world had changed.
“… Am I a relic of the past?” Octavia muttered to herself.
She glanced at Linlin who was unconscious and lying on the ground. Streusen was covered in blood and was panting heavily.
“Go back. If you want to die, then so be it, but I need Linlin to stay alive. It would be troublesome if she were to die.”
“What are you… talking about?!”
There were countless pirates in the vast ocean, but only a handful could claim the title of ‘Great Pirate’.
Rocks’ ambitions had been crushed, but Octavia had her own goals, her own reasons for acting.
Linlin’s death would be a problem.
The World Government and the Navy needed her alive. They needed to keep an eye on her, to know what she was planning.
“I don’t know what your intentions are… But if you’re willing to let me go, I’ll take my leave. Life’s precious.”
“Fufu, I don’t dislike that side of you.” Octavia laughed at Streusen’s words and watched as he carried Linlin back to his ship.
Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. It was Kanata, who had just defeated Kompo, Linlin’s eldest daughter.
They met gazes, but neither moved for a few moments. Then, Octavia spoke softly.
“… This is the first time we’ve met like this, I think. We last met when you were still a child.”
"I have no memory of it. I didn’t even know I had parents until recently."
"What? You haven’t spoken to that man?”
Octavia was referring to the man they knew as ‘the Headmaster’, who ran an orphanage on an island in the West Blue.
Kanata shook her head. “No… I never knew anything.”
“I see…”
It was something she expected. The Headmaster had been ready to kill Octavia, to use any means necessary. Even if she was his granddaughter, he wouldn’t have spoken to her if she was his enemy.
“Is there anything you want to know? I can tell you anything, even the location of the Ancient Weapons."
Of course, the only Ancient Weapon Octavia knew about was Poseidon. She added that it was a dubious existence, as they had been searching for it for years and had yet to find it.
But Kanata shook her head again.
"I’m not interested. There’s nothing I want to ask you."
“Hm… What do you desire?”
There was nothing she wanted.
Kanata had already moved on from the past. She had shed the name ‘Novem’ and chosen to live as ‘Kanata’.
She had known, since she learned that her mother was alive, that this might happen, but she hadn’t expected to have anything to say to her.
She thought she had come to terms with her emotions, but standing before Octavia, things were different.
“I don’t need you to explain yourself, mother. You have no right to call yourself my mother.”
"…………”
“But, No-vem, you are an heir to our lineage. You will inevitably be caught in the upcoming storm.”
“A storm?”
“Eight hundred years have passed since the ‘Void Century’. Find the ‘D Clan’. We are their knights, we fight alongside them. This is our destiny.” Octavia declared.
"……Our destiny? What am I to do?”
“You don’t care, do you? That’s fine… Tell me, what are you seeking on your journey?”
Now that she had a bounty on her head, the Navy was pursuing her. She was being hunted. Was she going to run for the rest of her life? Octavia asked.
Kanata replied, "I’m looking for the edge of this sea."
“The Roadstar Island? Or perhaps beyond? If you’re seeking the edge, you need to find the ‘Poneglyphs of History’.”
There was no easy path to that island. Finding the ‘Poneglyphs of History’ wouldn’t hurt.
The World Government had forbidden the exploration of the ‘Poneglyphs of History’, claiming it was to prevent the resurrection of the Ancient Weapons. But was that really the only reason?
Octavia probably knew more than Kanata realized.
The World Government had suppressed information about Rocks and Octavia because they knew too much, too many secrets that were inconvenient to them.
“Xebec aimed to conquer everything, to become ‘King of the World’. But you… you’re not like that. Do as you please.”
She could become the World Government’s enemy. She could hide and gather her strength. Either way, Kanata was caught in the swirling currents of fate.
Octavia, while stating this, understood that Kanata wouldn’t be satisfied with this explanation. She had questions.
“What happens when I find the ‘D Clan’?”
"Let them do what she wants for now. The one who will bring the Celestial Dragons down will come eventually. Although, you are also part of the ‘D Clan’”.
“You’re not the same, are you?”
"Yes. But Xe-beck was... Your father is Rocks D. Xebec.”
"──…"
"You couldn’t have imagined it."
It was a possibility. They had been on the same ship. They had similar strength. Octavia, unlike anyone else, called the man known as ‘Rocks’ as ‘Xebec’.
It was a secret known only to these two, but if the government ever found out… they wouldn’t let Kanata live.
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
"If you want to claim the name Rocks, then be it. It’s up to you."
She wouldn’t restrain her. Both Rocks and Octavia had sought ‘freedom’ and aimed to ‘rule’ the world. Octavia, as if signaling the end of their conversation, turned away. She removed her skull mask, revealing her face that was identical to Kanata’s.
"We’ll meet again someday."
Her jade-green eyes shimmered in the setting sun. She smiled softly, then vanished in a clap of thunder.
Kanata turned away and returned to Water Seven. The conflict with the Big Mom Pirates was over. There was still much left unsaid, but she could only accept the outcome, for now.
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